


I Heard an Angel Once

by Lt_Kickbutt



Series: Climbing the Ladder [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff mixed in, Going through hell for the happy ending, More tags to be added but I don't want to spoil it, No prior series knowledge needed, Nonverbal Communication, Organized Crime, Origin Story, Pre-Canon, References to Drugs, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 18:07:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lt_Kickbutt/pseuds/Lt_Kickbutt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Living two vastly different childhoods the innocent Neo and slightly less innocent Roman find strength and comfort in the most unfortunate of friendships.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Quick shout out to series regulars! This is completely different, it's going to be an ongoing story and it predates anything I've written so far. I really hope I do you guys justice because I know its been a while. I am going to still update the regular story along with this.
> 
> To anyone who hasn't read any of the stories in the series don't worry this story requires no prior knowlage

The young Neo had an astounding knack for fantasy. Going on only eleven years, in her short life she regaled her parents and neighbors with terrific stories. Similar to many eleven year old girls Neo had no interest in the written word when it came to telling her storytelling, but what she lacked in writing skill she made up for in action. Like the story of Scoop, her ice cream monster who uncontrollably oozes vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry stickiness on humans and Grimm alike. Neo had practiced silently slithering behind her stand in victim as she demonstrated how Scoop could swallow an adult whole, and she would flail her arms with a practiced face of terror as she pretended to run away. Her entire neighborhood in suburban Vale had Neo pegged on becoming an actress. The girl’s parents supported their eccentric daughter with jubilated pride in all things.

Stephen, a successful family psychiatrist and author of several self-help books, made a living off of listening to other family’s insecurities and failings. Like his daughter Stephen also had an imagination but it only haunted him with worse case and what if scenarios he silently kept to himself. Assuming it to be only natural for a psychiatrist to project these sorts of ideas. Stephen’s doctoral thesis, a groundbreaking monograph, analyzed the prolonged effect of the kind of emotional deprivation required to survive in a world with the Grimm. He argued and aptly proved that the greatest massacres in history by people living outside the kingdom were caused by an inability to safely let out their negative emotions. Stephen would later transform his ideas into his self-help books, available to anyone, that outlined ways for people to do just that. Stephen built his career on the science of melancholy and pain, and even though he could always keep his imagination to himself it forced him to rely on his daughter as his barometer of happiness.

 Stephen’s wife Miriam worked as head librarian for the university in Vale. She took a great amount of pride in her job and her own love of fiction, crediting herself for Neo’s love of fantasy. She worked hard on getting the right books in the hands of students and her husband’s books were most certainly on the shelves.  The feeling was an absolute oddity to her when a student slowly slid one of those books across the counter. Her heart would leap, it would expand in her chest, her smile would uncontrollably brighten, but when she looked up it would shatter. No student had ever checked out those books with a smile on their face, rather their eyes told a wordless story of tears, sleepless nights, and wasted mornings. She would want to tell them, that these were her husband’s books, and she was proud of them. But when an expanded heart shatters it breaks like Faberge egg, precious and now forever gone. Like her husband she too had a bad habit with her imagination. Wondering for each of these kids what is so going so poorly in their lives that they need to read his books. Unlike her husband, Miriam confined in him all of her worries, and he would calm her suggesting that it is normal in the world they live that people just have trouble with their emotions. Stephen and Miriam. They too were eccentric, finding happiness through their daughter, but with a daughter named Neopolitan how could they not be?

At home or in public they gave their daughter free reign to shine. They relished their parts in this story of a young actress’ life. They played the stage on which she could perform and the curtain which protected her against harm. Parenting came easily to both of them, having enough money to never need to worry, a mother who spent her teenage years caring for her baby brother, and a father who had been studying children and family relationships his entire adult life. At home they would play out the story of the princess and knight. Each taking turns being the princess, the knight, or the dragon. Neo preferred to be the knight but could play each role flawlessly. Neo would imagine a baby brother or an older sister or a puppy to run around with and tell her parents how each would change her life. Each fantasy she built would be immaculately proper. She had lived her life with everything in its proper place, acted out properly, and concluding properly. Because Neopolitan had never known anything other than the proper story, told at bed time or in a school play, with no twists or surprises to even be _considered._ How we all wish to imagine such a world.


	2. Chapter Two

Friday mornings lazily ran on in the suburbs as garbage men collected trash and students prepared for school. Neo and Stephen sat at the kitchen counter eating their pancakes for breakfast. Miriam would have left for work already and Neo’s bag sat next to the door ready to be whisked off to school with her. Abnormally quiet this morning Neo prodded her banana slices with a fork as her face burned a bright red. 

“It’s normal to be a little embarrassed sweetie, all the other boys and girls in your class will be too. Remember if anything is confusing or you have any questions your mother and I are fully prepared to answer!” Stephen did his best to feign confidence for his normally confident daughter, but he in particular hoped the class would be more than enough information to satisfy any curiosity he knew she didn’t even have. Stephen believed, contrary to many of the other parents, that the kids were ready to learn about growing into adulthood, but he just didn’t want to be the guy to explain the pictures.

“Some of the other girls at school are talking about sex” Neo stopped picking at her food to look up in horror, “they say we have to learn how to have sex, that all adults have sex.”  
“No, no honey. No one is going to teach you how to have sex.” Stephen held back a snicker remembering his own first time and considering the idea not all that bad, “They are just going to talk about how bodies change as you get older. They just-“

“Do all adults really have sex?” Neo pushed away her last pancake unable to finish eating.

Collecting their plates Stephen stalled, “Umm. Hmm. Well, I would say almost all adults have had sex, and most have sex regularly.” Neo’s face dropped into worry. Sex really had no place in Neo’s fantasy worlds. What use does any good story teller have for it? Not completely oblivious to the act she knew for a fact that sex had been a forbidden act. She learned quickly from watching the occasional R rated movie, and behind forcibly covered eyes she had grown to accept that sex was just not for her.

“From the story, would the knight and the princess have sex?” Neo blinked and her eyes glazed over with tears and her dad jumped in to save her.

“Not if you don’t want them too Neo, it’s your story to tell. They don’t need to have sex!” Stephen helped his daughter slide on her backpack and knelt down to eye level, “Sex is…just a way to show attraction, it’s one way that two people show they love each other. They might not talk about this today but as you grow you’re also going to start seeing other people as attractive just because they look nice. Like in the story how the knight describes the princess as ‘the most beautiful lady he’s ever seen’ that’s what it’s like to be attracted to someone. Sometimes it’s instant and sometimes it grows on you, but it’s going to happen with someone.”

“The knight and the princess are in love, dad.” Neo grumbled with her arms crossed. Hoisting her up in his arms Neo let out a surprised squeal of delight as he carried her on his shoulders to the car.

“Attraction is perhaps the largest part of love, but there are other ways to show love. Like kisses!” Dropping her down Neo jumped into the back seat and Stephen planted a fatherly kiss on her lips. Neo hummed out a smile still not yet too old in her mind to receive kisses from her parents as long as they weren’t in public. Getting the driver seat the pair buckled up and drove off to school.

Neo sat in silence content with the answers she had received. With each four way stop they encroached closer and closer to the most nerve wracking day in the girl’s recent memory. Her stomach hollowed out and rolled over. She moaned thinking it was an ache, and when the school came into view her stomach did three more cartwheels. It hurt in an odd way, but Neo committed it to memory for the next time she had to act out a frightened civilian or the princess.

Neo shook like a parasol in a windstorm as her father pulled up to the drop off zone. Before she jumped out he called back, “Neo, I can’t come pick you up after school again. You’ll have to walk to my office. Do you remember where it is?”

“Okay dad. I remember.” She jumped out and Stephen rolled down his window.

“Come right after school, it’s only a twenty minute walk so if you’re not there on time I’m going to come looking.” Neo nodded with a smile and waved, “Good luck today! Just get through it!” Looking around for her friends to calm her Neo approached the school as her dad drove off to work.

The big biology hormonal lesson was to be held at the end of the school day. While the last hour of Friday class is normally a death sentence for curriculum this time all the eleven year old students fell into two camps; one of excited curiosity and another of nervousness at the new, more responsible information awaiting them. Interest peaked and no matter which camp you hailed from each student paid attention. When the time came the adults split the boys into one group and the girls into another. Neo hid behind her bolder friends as they walked the girls single file into the music room. There were enough seats for everyone, circled around the front of the room. On the chalkboard hung abstract posters of women diagraming their breasts, a basic drawing of the womb, and one with a close up of the vagina. Squinting Neo examined all the labels absolutely perplexed at the number of parts; vulva, clitoris, hymen, urethra, fallopian tubes. Neo’s temperature skyrocketed as she looked at herself. She never even thought to give herself a proper look down there. Thinking that no one should see it really, just the toilet. 

She and her friends found their seats and Neo already felt like melting and sliding away, like Scoop could have. In the front of the class a familiar teacher smiled patiently at the girl’s mixed reactions. Most were silent, some giggled to each other. Fortunately Neo really liked this teacher. Mrs. Ark taught reading and led Neo’s homeroom. She always let Neo read out loud the most animated parts of the story, and allowed her to put her own special charm on the action. Neo considered talking to Mrs. Ark about her concerns earlier today, but decided to minimalize her suffering. When the teacher began to talk her voice genuinely calmed Neo. She talked of her own seven daughters and the numerous classes of girls she has guided through this information. Neo soldered on and managed to keep eye contact, just like any other lecture. As she turned to incorporate the terminology the handful of girls giggled and Neo caught herself smiling. With some calming breathing Neo handled each term in stride, learned about periods, body odor, and acne. Mrs. Ark told the girls their breasts and hips would get bigger and one girl let out a cheer to the amusement of others. They spent some time on the boys which absolutely killed the room, and finally for the last twenty minutes they talked about babies.

Even the most disinterested or embarrassed girls in the room sat up for the age old question, where do babies come from? Even those who knew the answer got excited, gaging the room for those who didn’t know. There were the even the small percentage of girls, with faces of worry, who’s older sisters warned them what came next. Mrs. Ark pushed the TV from the corner into the center of the front and hit the play button on the VCR. A male monotone voice explained sperm and eggs over an animated video of snake looking things wiggling along. They hit a cream colored sphere and after a transition screen nine months of pregnancy were demonstrated through the aging of a fetus. When the final scene started the small percentage of girls squealed, self-fulfilling the horror stories of their sisters. The group of girls was subjected to the miracle of life. Neo clutched her knees and couldn’t look away as the room filled with screams and cringing.

When the lesson finished each girl got a tote with deodorant, shampoo, a razor, and tampons. Neo took hers silently and couldn’t even look inside. They were free to go home after this so gripping the bag against her chest, rushed to her backpack, and left as quickly as possible to get to her dad. Neo walked the three block distance red faced and alert. She studied all of the adults, now privy to their sacred information, she wondered what else they knew. Was it going to get worse? She thought of her beloved princess and all the other parts she’s played over the years. She’s played the part of grown-up but really had no idea what it meant to be one. Maybe a bit of extra smell, hair, and blood would be the worst of it, but as she thanked the crossing guard and closed in on her dad’s office she really began to doubt it.


	3. Chapter Three

Neo entered the office building and headed down the stairs to her father’s clinic. He had been working in the same building for fourteen years now so just about everyone knew her. The café upstairs had the most amazing lemon Italian ice during the summer, so as school got out she spent many days in there acting out her stories for customers and eating sweets when her parents couldn’t find a sitter. Thankfully, no one saw her enter the building but Neo couldn’t avoid the receptionist as she entered the clinic.

Rachel sat at the counter ticking away at the keyboard expecting Neo to walk in. Other than the soft playing music the waiting was devoid of people and sound. Neo crept inside the room and tried to sit around the corner as Rachel stared at her computer screen. “How was school today Neo?”

Neo froze, still clutching her bag of grown up products. Spinning around, her gaze kept downward, she mustered up an answer, “It was fine, everything went fine.” She covered the bag with her arms and blushed fiercely. The redder Neo’s face got the wider Rachel’s smile became. Stephen had told her of the worried conversation between him and Neo this morning and what was happening at school today, so she had been expecting a scene like this all day.

Despite her slightly homely looks and large frame Rachel had an inviting smile and an infectious laugh. She took this job as a receptionist right out of college two months ago as she looked for a start in her career. Rachel and Neo had spent an hour or so afterschool together waiting for Stephen’s final appointments to finish at least half a dozen times over that time period, but today Rachel wanted to express a brand new sisterhood with the tiny Neo. Like Neo and her grade school puberty education, Rachel’s first full time job marked a change in her life. These new responsibilities and experiences that signified her as becoming an adult also made her nervous. To say that graduating hasn’t changed her life would be disingenuous. Most of her friends from college had moved on and she had trouble making new ones so far. Rachel spent the whole day daydreaming about what responsibilities had changed her life and hearing about Neo’s trouble with the idea of sex made her feel that much older.

“Are you sure there isn’t anything you want to talk about? You can ask me, and you dad never has to know.” Rachel gave the girl her warmest smile trying to beckon her closer. Neo dropped her backpack in a chair and approached the counter with her tote bag, but unable to see over the top of it Rachel invited her to the back.

Pulling a chair for the girl Neo jumped up and finally let go of her bag of toiletries. Setting it on the desk in front of them Rachel reached for it, “Let’s see what they gave you.” Neo nodded as Rachel dumped the contents on the desk. Some of the products were easy, “This is just shampoo, see? You probably already use shampoo, but when your body does start to change-.”

“Puberty right? That’s what Mrs. Ark called it.” Neo interrupted with her new terminology.

“Right, you’re right. But when you do hit puberty your hair is going to get a lot more oily and you’ll need to shampoo more regularly.” Rachel put the bottle into Neo’s hand and continued with each item. She explained the deodorant for body odor, the razor for shaving legs and armpits, and the tampons for periods.

“Now, the razor and tampons you might not need for a while longer still, but it’s good to know how to use them, you should ask your mom when you get home. But nothing’s going to happen if you use the deodorant. In fact, it just makes you smell nice.” Rachel popped the cap and held it up to Neo’s nose who smelled it and smiled. “You just rub this end against your armpit after a shower before you put your shirt on.”

The door down the hallway opened as Stephen spoke, “Set up a follow up appointment with Rachel, Mr. and Mrs. Delarosa. No later than five weeks I want you to see your psychologist and come see me again.” He shook hands with the couple and bid them a good day, turning the corner to the receptionist desk their faces lit up as they saw Neo.

“Why hello Neo!” Mrs. Delarosa called out first, “Are you a receptionist today too?”

Never one to miss a chance to ham it up she answered quickly with hardly any prompting, “No. That’s just my cover, I’m really a secret agent.” She put her hand up to her face in the shape of a phone, “Agent Bond, take the next door on your left!” She looked back up and she covered her “phone” with her other hand whispered loudly with a smile, “The bad guy is about to get away and I’m going to have to catch him.”

Both husband and wife laughed boisterously which made Neo swell with pride. Rachel started to prattle off dates and times for their return appointment and after getting it in order Mrs. Delarosa spoke to Neo again, “It’s good to see you here more often. You are most certainly the best part of coming to the doctor’s.” The couple received their reminder card and exited the clinic waving goodbye.

Slinking up behind the pair Stephen reached out and grabbed Neo’s shoulder with a light shake, “Rawrrrrr! I got you now agent Neo!” The girl screamed as she laughed, faking her violent shaking before slumping over passed out, “Now that I have you I can tie you up and tell you my evil secret plan!” Neo laughed gathering up her bag of products and ran to get her backpack as her father and Rachel finished the last tasks of the day.

She waited patiently humming to the music for another twenty minutes when her father came out with briefcase and jacket and took her by the hand. They both said goodbye to Rachel and got in the car to go home.

“Well, how did school go today? Was it as scary as you made it out to be?”

“No, not that scary, but there were scary parts. But Mrs. Ark was the teacher and I really like her so it went better than I thought.”

“You’ll have to show mom what they gave you. She’ll want to hear all about it I’m sure.”


	4. Chapter Four

Roman liked the idea of earning his keep but loathed the circumstances that required him to do so. He ran drugs, money, or dust crystals for any gang that required his services. See most kids that are forced into gangs represent only one, so they have to fight with the other gangs, rep their colors, or stay in one area of town. Roman avoided all of that with some smooth talking and damn good logic. Roman convinced the bosses it would be better if he had no allegiances. The cops couldn’t pin him to a gang, other gang members couldn’t hassle him because they risk the possibility he might just be running for them, and he worked completely solo to prove he wasn’t trying to claim some territory of his own.  The trick with using Roman was to never give him more than what he was worth alive. Everyone knew that, Roman knew that, and Roman knew what he didn’t know, if that makes any sense.  That’s more than could have been said about his father. Just another hustler, turned runner, turned entrepreneur, turned corpse by the wrong end of a gun.

Roman’s father pushed his luck to better his son’s life. Unaware of what he didn’t know Roman’s father took a little extra here and there until Dominic caught on. If asked anyone who remembers Roman’s father would say he was just another deadbeat dad who never did anything for his son until the day he died. When the fantasy is easy to believe and told enough times no one would question it. In reality Roman’s father encouraged his son to study, got him into a public school in an area where nobody knew him, and would skip meals to buy his son books and things for his hobbies. Roman enjoyed music, envied rock stars and eccentric famous people. He even got to do martial arts for a time until someone noticed him as “Rock’s boy” one night. Although not above giving a belting, like his father used to give him, all in all Rock tried his best for Roman.

In his final moments Rock had a last request of Dominic. Just to give his boy a chance to earn his keep in Vale, that Roman is smarter than most everybody running and he’ll learn his lesson and never cross anybody. When Dominic dragged Roman in to receive his father’s last will and testament he smiled wide, with teeth black as pitch. He held out his ring for fealty and Roman obliged, because he knew what he could and could not do. “No hard feelings, son.” The three letter word twisted and bastardized for life, “No love lost between a deadbeat dad and his kid. This could be the best chance he’s ever given you.”

Roman grew up overnight in the realest sense of the phrase. He turned fourteen the next day, quickly finding his niche in the fucked up underground world of Vale. Before his fifteenth birthday Roman had a shitty apartment he called his own and a little bit of money saved up. He still suffered hungry nights and deals gone wrong, but farther and fewer in-between. His father did leave him something of a family heirloom, a cane that concealed a cannon of a gun. Used by his father when he trained to be huntsman for about a week. Too short to use it to walk Roman slung it over his shoulder to look threatening, and thankfully he hasn’t had to use it yet.

His father’s death taught him the liability of caring for someone else. Roman was concealed his entire life from the bosses, but in the end he’s the reason Rock stuck his neck out and died. Roman lived alone and learned to prefer it, gave up school and hobbies of course and threw away every book he owned except for one. The one book his father had ever bought for himself, who knows what compelled him, a self-help book written by some genius psychiatrist that was supposed to help you purge Grimm attracting emotions in a safe way. He used to thumb through the pages wondering what went on in his dad’s head.

Roman’s only complaint is he still had to work for Dominic. If he didn’t accept work from any of the major players who asked it of him it would break this tentative deal he built. So Roman would drag himself into Dominic’s home for jobs and did his best to remember no love lost. The only fantasy Roman ever indulged himself in was the slow and cruel murder of Dominic. He never dreamed of having his father back, never dreamed of growing up in the suburbs, but he did dream of revenge. The pettiness of it did not escape him, but maybe Roman could use a little more fantasy in his life.


	5. Chapter Five

The slow nights were the worst as Roman restlessly scoured the clubs for trouble. A night or two off would have been fine but going on a week now his fridge had emptied out. Roman walked through the backdoor of Senior’s night club. Roman tipped his hat to the bouncer and headed downstairs into a fog of cigarette smoke and the sound of bills through a counter. Roman gripped Melodic Crudgel tightly across the back of his neck as he walked through to Senior’s office. No one had taken it off of him because no one knew it could fire a round thicker than these loser’s dicks. Roman fidgeted with his cane when nervous and tonight he twirled the damn thing up and down his arm as he entered the room.

“Roman, what the hell are you doing here? You’ve never once accepted one of my jobs.” Senior didn’t even look up from his desk, certain of this waste of time.

“Look Senior, I’m in a real bind here. I’ve had no cash come in for almost a week now.”

“I can’t be pissed to cater to a little shit who won’t even try to play with the big boys. _My_ son is out there making an actual name for himself and I can’t even understand why the others give you the table scraps.”

“Hey man, I’m useful. I haven’t once been caught by the cops and I have had fewer bad deals than anyone.”

“That’s because you don’t even play. Roman, nut up. Because I have large collection of dust crystals that need a courier.” Senior looked up for the first time, “If you want it.” Roman had his back against the wall. The status quo must be changing, drugs are selling better than ever before and Roman wondered how much of a hand he had in it. His stomach growled loudly and Senior smiled. “Look, I can give you an advance, just take the job and in a few hours make the exchange under the bridge. You can go eat, buy a hooker, do whatever you want. Just be there in three hours with the bag.”

Senior held out the stack of lien and his bodyguard held up a black duffle bag, “Fuck.” Reaching out Roman snagged the money and hoisted the bag by the strap. Roman grumbled his command back to Senior, “Three hours” Leaving the club out the backdoor.

Picking up a cheesesteak Roman headed home to hide with the bag of crystals. He ate greedily as he stared into the bag of glowing crystals. Well beyond rattled Roman had never see so many crystals and worried a fart would blow the apartment building to hell. Two and half hours crept on at an agonizingly slow pace. He paced the room considering every possible permutations of the plan. Who the buyers could be, escape routes, safe places to hide, and a thousand other potential problems. He thumbed through his father’s book to earmarked pages with his favorite passages to try to calm down. Nothing seemed to help so he prayed, fucking _prayed,_ for tonight to go well. The time to leave came and went and Roman tried to be casual as he walked the streets. He figured everyone must know about this job. Senior had three hours to spread the word.  The potential for set up poisoned his thoughts, he lost focus and when the occasional acquaintance called out to him he would jump in the air and readied Melodic Crudgel. He thought about his dad, which he had never done while on the job, and how he must have felt skimming the bits of money off the top. Roman might have even cried when he reached the bridge with no altercation. Wiping at his eyes he entered from his end and a shadowy figure approached.

“Holy shit, Roman?” The man stepped forward one more step, further than usual protocol, but with his hands raised in the air. “Fuck fellas the rumors were right, it IS Roman! Are you finally going after real work?” Roman dropped the bag and eyed up the buyer. One of Dominic’s right hand guys. So beloved in fact this guy could have been the one to pull the trigger that killed his father for all Roman knew. Roman used to imagine that anyone and everyone could have been the potential killer, but it solved literally nothing to imagine so he did away with the thought. Focusing on Dominic himself.

“Maybe. What’s it to you?” His voice betrayed him as it cracked and the other side burst into laughter. Roman winced away a blush and pushed the bag to the other side.

Responding in kind a metal briefcase came sliding across the cement, echoing through the arch, “Look Roman. If you’re serious about actually working come see Dominic, this city is so rich with idiot gangbangers and losers that were looking for all the smart blood we can get.” He pulled out a handful lien and slid that across the ground. “Something to sway you, that’s a lot of money, but damn if there isn’t just so more to be had.”

 They gathered up the duffle and Roman collected the money and the two parties split off completely pain free. Roman gawked at the money before sending it the drop off zone, a much safer and closer location then back at Senior’s, he had never seen so much money. A job had never gone this smoothly before, and he even got paid up front. Roman cursed the thought but he could get used to this. Tonight he celebrated like a king of his own castle, but he had no one to share the success with.

**Author's Note:**

> I really am looking for critical criticism if anyone is willing to dish it out. I can take I promise. My inspiration for this Neo comes from very theatrical movements and fighting style from the show. My inspiration for Roman comes from my favorite line in maybe the whole series "I'll do what I do best, lie, steal, cheat and survive." Analyze or criticize accordingly.


End file.
